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“Were you aware of his connection to Fear Island?”

I shake my head. “Again, no. He was employed there under an alias. If I had known, I would never have been there.”

“And you never once crossed paths with him?” the detective prompts.

“I did not. I was only there in the residential area with my friends. As far as I’m aware, he didn’t live on the island, and the housing is for long-term staff, but I could be wrong.”

“His parole officer mentioned he spoke about you a lot, and he had the mindset that you were still his girlfriend.”

“Pardon my bluntness, but that man hurt me in more ways than one, both physically and mentally. There is no way I want to see him ever again. Honestly, I just want to be left alone.” I let the tears well in my eyes. “I thought that when he was released from prison, he wouldn’t be allowed near me. So I am a little upset he was able to get so close to me without me even knowing.”

“That’s understandable,” the other officer answers.

“Miss Quinn, is there anything you’d like to tell me about the situation at all?” the detective adds.

I look at him and tell him the truth. “Aaron was the most controlling person I have ever known. He spent years making me believe that what he did to me was normal, and I have spent years fixing that damage. I genuinely do not know where he is, and if I did, you would be the first people I told. I will not let that man affect my life any more than I have.”

He nods and I see the shift; he believes me. “Thank you for your time.”

The detective walks me out to the reception area, and when I walk outside, I spot Ares leaning against the building.

“How’d it go?” he asks.

I shrug. “Okay, I think.”

We walk together back to his bike, and when he passes me my helmet, I pull it on and fasten the strap. As I get on behind him, I feel a sense of relief. A chapter of my life is closed.

When we are almost at the bridge, I feel Ares’s phone buzz from his pocket. By the third time, he pulls over, and we see he has multiple missed calls from Clay and a text.

Circus tent

I don’t know what that means, but Ares obviously does as he takes off, riding right through to the front of the circus tent. We both slide off and rush forward, where Ares pulls back the entrance flap and holds it open for me.

The fire wheel is spinning and Karo is standing beside it, one arm raised as he looks at whoever is tied to it. The girl is laughing, but I can’t see her face from this angle.

Clay is standing ten feet back with his arms crossed. “Get. Her. Down!”

“She asked,” Karo says with a smirk.

“She is my fucking sister.”

“So what? She just wants a turn. There is no one here to see it.”

“Jess!” Clay snaps, and I walk faster to get to Clay’s side before he explodes.

“Can’t hear you,” Jess sings out, though she’s clearly lying because she’s grinning directly at him.

I look at Ares because Clay obviously called him to mediate, which is unlike him, and I wonder why he didn’t call Brawley first.

Ares shrugs as if to say, This is not my problem. “She looks like she is having fun.”

“Stay out of this,” Clay snaps, which makes me laugh since he is the reason we are here.

“It’s harmless, and she asked. This isn’t happening against her will.”

“I don’t care if she asked, begged, or filed a request form. She is not being strapped to a flaming wheel by a man who throws knives for a living.”

“He is really good at it, though,” I interject.